5 things you need to know about Maybe Tomorrow

Cinema Australia Original Content:

by Matthew Eeles

As a young couple struggle with the demands of life with a new baby, they plow forward on production for their latest self-funded independent feature film. Maybe Tomorrow is directed by Caitlin Farrugia and Michael Jones.

1. This is Michael Jones and Caitlin Farrugia’s fourth feature film
Filmmaking runs through the veins of prolific indie duo Jones and Farrugia. Maybe Tomorrow is the second feature film the two have co-written and co-directed following last year’s improvisational comedy drama, So Long. Jones also directed Lazybones and Wolf, both starring Jackson Tozer. Farrugia is yet to direct a feature film on her own but also co-wrote Lazybones.

2. If you’ve seen Jones and Farrugia’s other films, you’ll notice a few familiar faces in Maybe Tomorrow
Actor Tegan Crowley has appeared in all four of Jones and Farrugia’s feature films. Crowley plays the lead character Erin in Maybe Tomorrow alongside Vateresio Tuikaba who had a role in So Long. Eva Seymour, who plays boom mic operator Eva in Maybe Tomorrow, also had a lead role in So Long and Lazybones. Fabiana Weiner, who plays Peta in Maybe Tomorrow, also starred in Lazybones and So Long. Be sure to keep an eye out for Jackson Tozer’s hilarious blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in the Maybe Tomorrow marking his third appearance in a Jones/Farrugia film.

3. This is the first lead acting role for Vateresio Tuikaba, who also goes by the name Patrick Tuikaba
“I first met Mike and Caite on their last feature, So Long,” Tuikaba told Cinema Australia. “They saw this random short I made at film school and contacted me directly, so I immediately was really appreciative of the low key and relaxed way that they work with people, which I think is reflected a lot in this movie as well. It might be that I was playing a slightly fictionalised version of myself, but when you’re on one of Mike and Caite’s sets, it’s easy to forget that you’re there to make a movie. Their naturalistic style asks that the performers drop their guard and be present in the moment, this is what I believe is one of the many reasons these two can create such engaging films. Working on this movie taught me to be patient with myself. It taught me to focus on the now and not let my mind be cluttered with things out of my immediate control. I’m excited to see what the future has in store for these two absolute beasts of filmmaking and the brigade of amazing professionals that we got the opportunity to work with.”

4. Maybe Tomorrow was shot in typical Jones and Farrugia improvisational style
Maybe Tomorrow didn’t have a script. The cast and crew worked off a twenty page treatment, which they would continue to tweak during the ten day shoot. Many of the film’s scenes were shot with a crew of four people including Jones, Farrugia, Dylan Morgan-Rose on sound and Michelle Keating, the 1st AD. The film’s budget was kept low by casting actors who the filmmakers have rapport with, shooting on fewer days, using the filmmaker’s own gear, shooting within the filmmaker’s own apartment and friends houses for most of the scenes.

5. The film’s title was inspired by…
“The title Maybe Tomorrow has multiple meanings but was originally created from a phrase married or long term couples will say to one another in bed,” Jones recently told Cinema Australia. “One will roll over and ask if they feel like having sex, the other will turn the light off and say, ‘maybe tomorrow.’ The idea being that our main characters are at the ‘maybe tomorrow’ point in their relationship.

Maybe Tomorrow is screening at the Gold Coast Film Festival on Friday, 5 April. Tickets and details here.